Cartridge feeding device for automatic firearms



27,, 1951 ca. WEBB ET AL CARTRIDGE FEEDING DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC FIREARMS3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 19, 1944 tt army Invent 02 "5 Esargs WebbIAZ'ZZZI'smL. 5145 2.2

amh 2'7, I51 5. WEBB ETAL CARTRIDGE FEEDING DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICFIREARMS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 19, 1944 2 W ZHMMI W 5 H u z in 15 .WZM I G. WEBB ET AL CARTRIDGE FEEDING DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC FIREARMS 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 19, 1944 Patented Mar. 27, 1951 m n-am;lorries ommmemmmnmn DEVIGEEQB SVAUTOMATIC aeorgewebbxfiartfpra, and'WilliangL' Swm-tz, '"West Hartford, Conn., assignors to *GnltsManufacturing -"Gompany, a corporation of agpplication Allin,- 9 1KialNM:

'- 13iGlaims.

zThis invefition relatesito a. cartrid e, feedin device for an.automatic firearmand, moreiparticlilafrly'. tomaigmagazinei.attachahleitor. an 2111.1 matidfirearm' and pro'vided with boostermech ji'i'ismadapted'zto be actuatedlbyca,moiiablemem- :tuatedl feeding imchanismfladapted tojj reed; a loaded ieederifrom any appropriate.receptacle or container suchas a magazine or ieedi tray to anal-through"thaieed channel of. the firearm. 1 "In s|id firearmfltheofeed'slidejwhichengages the': feeden, to .movl itI.thro.3.igh' theieedjchannel his actuated ,by. certain .-parts Tof. thfirearm,w1 1i1e movingin counter-recoil"direction. gl-l enceljthe standard oriconventional.-,means ,ini the: firearm iwhichmove saidumovable parts incounter-recoil direction harewsiifliciently powerful. to; operatethi-feed l 'slid Ain; feditlg ildirectiont for purposes lof m ovinga}:loadedcfeederiofllifriitedulengthio .iandihrotiglithiebdbhahfielillthasheen f Qllild,

accommodate fifteengorl twenty rounds or. ;ar-

llnhanfiellwithout impbsinaahy Jlhdll; uiiden upon said;movableiparts-ofathjifirearm.j Itwhas also-beenwfnundcthatLwhereavmagazinepr snit- Able wg'izide means are so lconstructed that gravityLassi'sts in the ieding ofathl. feedei; tqthe je'ed channel; feeders loisufiieient...1erf th. to. aGQQmom'odate a numberof. cartridges somewhatgreater 'Llt-han'" ififteen' maylw be .satisfactorilyj fed. to, land"through.- the lfeedinhannel by lthemconvv n iqf feedislide providedinl.th;;firearm.

lLLIri installationsylwhere it. isYfllasirBdQtq :fejed loaded feeders,'lofl ithef .fiexiblejorllrigidj; type,

having .capac'itiesigreatei Jaharithirty cartridges,

forexample, siich ,anladditional,burden isflsome- .stimes placed upon.thewmovable parts 1011 ,the

firearm, while moving in a. vcounter,-reo1oi1j direc- ,.tio1'i toactuateinthe.\feed s'lide,..that thejwfiri ng :1; speed of the firearmieimpeded and; if) saidburden is siifficientlygreatrmalfunctioningorganisfunctioning of the firearm may. result.

IT .certain wparts'. oi the. firearm whi h automati- Liially. move,in.-ref oi1.idirectionhincident, to1 the firingfofirounds' oncartridgeswiri the; firearm ta ise moizedlby s'izcnjgrea'tforcenthatl'iitilizationiiof l even.alsubstantialcpart ofq'sai'diorcawoinldlilace mariner-swa &8.

no undue burden en'the satisfactory-functioning of"the fire arm.:Accqrdinglygit-is=amobjept of the present invention to provide abooster meehatively carried by a -magazineattaohed -to tne firearmandprovided With-power-means adapted toj be energized by a certain-movablemm loer on the "firearm; w'hile said member is moying inrecoildirection.

"It 'is another-object of-the-invention to---provide, feeding meansconnected to saidpower means; whereby, -yvi1enj-tl 1e movable parts ofthe firearm are 'r noyingin counter-recoil;direction, saidpower meansmoves said feeiing means and 1 the .iee l r eedthqr -i e it isagifnrthei 'gbjeotof 'the invention to pro- ;vjde a retractable pawl; onsaid -f eeding-: means which is engageable lay-pawl retractingnieiianism automatically operative to retract said pawl tq arrinoperatiye pr n -feederengaging posijtign after a, predeterminedpcrtion'of the feeder l as been rnqyed in ;eed ing--direetion by saidbooster mechanism, said' portionmftlie 'feeder corresponding directlytoa predetermined-numb er of the, partridgefs qarried joy thefeeder.

:11!) ,is a" still' f urther object 'Off the invention to pro'y ide apawlretra cting means in;the form 10f a c;o1 ntingmech-a nisfiigomprising a -=ratcliet Wheel which is progressively moved stepwise inone"direction' asyt he feeding-means reiprocates, said ratchetwlgeeljoeing gconnected to 'a mernfier adapted; to be progrsiiely andsirnu1taneoas1y Imov ed t hereby-from on e positior-yto anothe and,ineident, toyreaching said latter position, salid member Willengage andfetractsaid pawl from itsieederegaging position.

a corolla y: qri e'i eeq i bi it is anothembie tj t ssreimq ihe w tr n:whe l/ is ad ancedsten e wfi pfil fili the space betw@n;.u 2s=i tee h.R PWQ' D ciprocative' movementof the feeding means and,

trimaran-readi -m e aadmng s t l feeding direction. a 'distanceequal ,tdthe' space bet een succes ive ga rid ea h i l i E 53?- ineimea s momma-.the nump rjq te m the ratchet-wheel will correspqnd to thenmfiloer n t.car r d s iwhi ice e de ed i d in fe di q re tioag ri e.i i is m an 1234, to Q i nnttheiee ine e l i m e sii acletillanotberome t qii. -i ye ipi emto pr ried asfio' the easea mhs it a te d t azine tientiif i1.aiter.

It is one further object of the invention to attach a cam member to acertain part on the firearm which is automatically reciprocable inopposite directions upon the firing ofthe firearm, the cam face of thecam member being so 1 shaped that while moving in recoil direction, it

operates a coengaging means which is moved thereby to energize the powermeans of the-booster mechanism.

As a corollary to the foregoing object, it is a further object ofanother embodiment of the invention to provide a clearance openingadjacent one end of the cam face of the cam member whereby the meansactuated by said cam face may pass through said opening at the end ofthe movement thereof by said cam face to permit quick actuation of thefeeding mechanism in feeding direction by the power means that has justbeen energized by said cam member while moving in recoil direction.

Other objects of the invention, as well as details of the foregoingobjects and details of the invention are set forth in the followingspecification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying drawings show the embodiment of the invention which isdeemed preferable, but it will be understood that the drawings areintended for illustrative purposes only and are not to be construed asdefining or limiting the scope of the invention, the claims forming apart of this specification being relied upon for that purpose.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a rear end elevation of a magazine and firearm having combinedtherewith a booster mechanism comprising the present invention, themagazine being broken away in parts to better disclose certain featuresof the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the firearm and magazine shownin Fig. 1, said view being from the right hand side of Fig. 1 andillustrating the parts of the firearm and booster mechanism in theirposition at the instant a cartridge in the firearm is fired.

. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but shows certainmovable parts ofthe firearm and booster mechanism in the position they assume at the endof the movement of said parts of the firearm in recoil direction. I

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevavation of the cam memberincluding another embodiment of the invention comprising a clearanceslot or opening to permit quick return of the bell crank which isactuated by the cam member to energize the power means of the boostermechm'. V

i Fig. 5 is a fragmentary rear end elevation of the mechanism shown inFig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view illustrating details ofthe booster mechanism per seshown in Fig. 1.

Fig. '7 is a further enlarged fragmentary side view of the boosterfeeding means and pawl retracting per se of the booster mechanism at theend of the movement of said feeding means in feedingdirection, the pawlretracting means being in its initial or first position in said view.

Fig. 8 is a view smilar to Fig. 7 but shows the booster feedingmechanism at the commencement of its feeding stroke, the pawl retractingmechanism being illustrated in theposition it occupies just priortoretracting the movable pawl to inoperative position.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 7 but illustrates the pawl moved to andlatched in its inoperative position.

Fig. 10 is a sectional vertical view of certain parts of the boosterfeeding means and pawl retracting means viewed on the line |!3l B ofFig. 7, said view also showing. one end of a feeder mounted in operativeposition in the guideway of the feeding means and rearward of the feedpawl thereof.

Referring to the drawings, the firearm l0 preferably, though notrestrictively, is of the type adapted to fire rounds or cartridges of acaliber considerably greater than rifle caliber and particularlycartridges having a caliber of approximately 37 mm. Said firearmcomprises a breech casing l2 which is surmounted partially of its lengthby a feed box Hi, the feed box being provided with a feed channel l6extending transversely therethrough and defined at its ends by suitableopenings in opposite side Walls of the feed box It. For all practicalpurposes as far as the present invention is concerned, the breech casingl2 and feed box I4 may be considered as a single casing notwithstandingthe fact they are actually separable in accordance with the standardmanner in which the firearm is manufactured.

'Reciprocable within the breech casing I2 is a barrel extension having adepending portion l8 to which is secured a bracket 20 which is movabletherewith. The portion I8 and bracket 20 reciprocate automatically inrecoil and counter recoil directions as the firearm functions. Theexplosion taking place upon the firing of a round 'or cartridge movesthe barrel extension and por-' tion [8 thereof in recoil'direction tothe position substantially shown in Fig. 3 and, following this, a springmounted in recuperator tube 22 quickly moves the barrel extension andits portion I8 in counter-recoil direction to the position thereof shownin Fig. 2.

To illustrate the principles of the invention to,

advantage, the present drawings illustrate a frame-like magazine,generally designated 24, secured to the feed box [4 by suitable latches26 and pins 23 extending longitudinally of the firearm to interconnectprojecting members on the feed box and the end portions of the magazineframe. The magazine 24 comprises a rear end plate 30 and a front endplate 32 which are held in spaced relationship by a plurality ofsuitably spaced struts or rods 34, the spacing between the end platesbeing sufficient to accommodate cartridges ,33

therebetween. Struts 34 also support in spaced relationship a pluralityof narrow elongated plates 36 and 38which comprise a skeletal channel orguideway for a feeder. Plates 35 and 38 are maintained properlypositioned on said struts by a plurality of spacing sleevess Theguideway defined by plates 35 and 38 passes around the upper portion ofthe firearm and extends from approximatelyone end to, the other of thefeed channel 15. Except for its shape, the magazine herein illustratedgenerally resembles the framelike magazines illustrated in U. S. Patent2,375,453, dated May 8, 1945, andcopending application, Serial No.498,624, now U. S. Patent 2,537,562 to which attention is directed for aasmuch as themajor portions of the magazine extended above the firearmwhen disposed in ribiimalpositiom gravity assisted inthe' feedingtooth-52 adap edito bereceiveddnsuitable spaeed T lt Li SI- 'tO loeiinderstood thatfthefied' BOX -"l 4 contains" anautomdticallyreciprdcable" feed slide having a feed ip'awl; engagingafeeder to move theisamet'in feeding directiomthrough thewfeed hannel;l6. ,iWhile 'iioft shownin the present drawings, said feed slideis"fu1ly described and clearly illustrated, in U. "S: Patent 2,375,452and depending appl qation',;'serial o mans,- As shewmtherein theifeed;slideds automaticallyme- .cip'roatedeby' certain "movable parts. in-the-firearm .,-,d'1'1ring "the functioning fthereof v, and comprises ithe tsole means 1 in the "firearm 'and -maga- 1 notches or"betweenethevlinksi of. the, feeder 4E whereby as feeding meansAii.movesminjfeeding direction during its reciprocativemovements;

5 the feeder assembl-yuisimovedrintfeeding direc; tionw -lt is to beunderstood that ar-feederi as; sembly' comprises afeeden completely orpartial l-y loaded -with: cartridges; as. i a. t.

Feedingmeansji6=may belcontposed,.=of.a plurale ity--of 'spaced sidemembers which-respectively directly carry said ribs 48, said sidetmemberfi being held" imassembled relationship bmany :suitable means:suclm-as pins-,-orrivets 54; Pawltfieeispivotally --supportedbetweent-saids side members zin which moves .the feeder-infeedingdirection l5 of saidieeding means one-transversely extending; intsigguideway; ,ifisfstated alcove;- however; the pivot -pin=- 55. O'nelegofthe :Leshaped; paw/ ine Jfjeedihg of ,the jeeder'aridther-cartridgesconextends substantial-1y horizontallyavhilethenther 11;d ffhe eiflis assistedby'; gravity While movlegdepends: theizefromtsubstantiallytvertiaallyn i the guidetvays finisaidmagaz'iness such A-substantially -U shaped-.1springhfieheextends feedingisacdomplishedsatisfactorily bythe-feed o v e-swi "in h feedinemeansslidetof the firearm biltjgwhen itiis desired'to n engages he p n ng-legfoftthenpawlger increase the capacity .of the "magazinesby makwas to:normally biasrthettoothfl of-saidpavvl v ing;;.the same larger or whenit is desirable'or upward-end into engagement with thefeedernece'ssaryttosdlshape the, same that gravity will assembly. 1. notprovide sufiicientl additional force to supplyInordenthatthe-feederassemblymay'notice the; total amount of forceneeded by the feed slidettoffeed a feederofgreater cartridge oapac'ity,other, means must be provided to supply suchadditional forceflas. is.required to move 'a V'fe eder of longer length in said guidewayor theiiiringispeed of the firearm will either bemateriallyiqim peded or'at-misfunction or a malfunction of the.firarmiwilllresult.v 1 .T 1 l tfnlt is-therefore the principal ,object of the presentainyention toLprdvide booster mechanism which; is adapted't .be -mounted adjacent a tfeederiguideway and. be actuated by ower means naergized "by thefirearm; whereby a, feeder is -moved in t feedinglfdirection. in said.guideway by said' h-booster. Iogillustratelarrexemplaryinstallatiom ofthe booster mechanism comprising i the present invention, the same isshown supported bysa- -rnagazinenld.MiSaid booster. mechanism includesimeans ,eng'ageahle with aIfee'der 4,8130 move fthe-gsame in [feeding..direction'."ii1f "the" 7 guideway ior-medi by platesiiedflandjii;While' ,the'ffeeder tElliJhasQbeemiHustraiied. as an endless flexibleartticu1afied=1inkttype oil-feeder, it ;is to betund'er- Istooditha'talabooster "of the'l type to be presently gdescr ilied {is also equallyadapted td feed or asinyt'he feeding. of disintegratinglink or rigidtiib f ders'l'of anyreasonably, practical length ifv the feeders areflexible, 'theybooster is feeder. isliof the endless type as illustratedin the tpneseht drawings. or, otherwise; In Fi 1,?Tinci- 'udentallythefeeder 4Q is onlyfragm'entarily illustrated but itis to be understoodthat said feeder gcoiitinue sf I enemy: jgaround j-the guideway andthrough the: feed channel 1 6;; of the feed-box;

Considering the booster mechanism indet'ail, the same comprises a pairoffspaced plates- 42 wh h a e; invented "be w tr a vfi .guidj'eway andsupported'bya pair of the struts 34;;Blates 42 arejrespectivelyprovidedontheir erfsuifface'sjj'with opposed :guide' grooves" 44 iwhichpreferably extend the fulllength of the Tjplatesi A depending member'43; is provided-on f'UIie'"I 1d of each plate 42 for purposes to bedescr b v 1. A; A i Mi 1. mreciprocable feedingmeans '46 is provided onitswpposite sides'fwithi projecting horizontal ribs ig'l'iifwhich are''respectively slidably -=received in guide grooves l k *Feeding meansflfi pivetally supports an L-shaped pawl 50 having a feeding coperabletherewith regardless of whethert moved away from the pawlin a directionnormal to thepathofamovem-ent of the. feede s.-

=the

gui-deway; supplementary guide; means; compris ing apair of ,spacedrflanges .621: are, mounted on and respectively .proj ect inward.- fromthe spaced plates 3% ofi-theu-guideway. As is, clearly; shown in. Fig.10; .saidinward projecting ,fiangesifiz gver lap theoppositelyveextending; side fianges fi d 9f the feeder .48, whereby-vthefeedenmay only move longitudinally .of: the g-uidewayna-t leastat thatparticular uportion;thereoi where the supplementaryr uidezmeansisloca dPo-Wer means to move the feeding feeding directionfiomprises a :T- hapeditfiawhich is securedtto one;end;,of -the iffeeding me s brtaat aastereenin 6? t e mem s providedeorn outer; 1 10 1 1 pl-urality of' nacadannn a r. one: the spasms-tennis r .ivitn; aenlur i p a eda ps iured 1 16? S -1 i0 Which -one of-the ;of a plurality of he ical sprin s 1.- 1 j-JLrQ Q Qj AY 1XS se ured E' f o ends of said springs are respectivelysecured .gto

-small apertured platesza tone 1 of the; apertures 10f aahfif a 1 lacemntsne stin n ie nlatelislis o eaen h aneu a ":pin, .--;-;Theconnection;between, member, .56 I and J r fine me ns-see such; tha sai i a a ibfi.s tl .pivotally;mpteda b 61 .i f- ,mitthe springs E2 to fin dytheir Wave while the feeding means is moving between its two limits ofmovement. t

q; Springs 12 are of such size that they will quickly move-the feedingmeans 46 jnfeeding direction ,andtstill be under tension when thefeeding means ,fifinhas been moved to the limit of its pathi of movementin feeding'direction, whereby the small apertured plates 14 willnormally always be main- .tained-in the annular notches of pins 68.Movement of the=feeding means 4B--in feeding direction is normallylimited by- -a stop pawl flfl tpiv- 'otallymounted on a the 1 magazineadj acent" the 1 -feed box-1G and:adaptedwto-engagev one of alplu-70*ralityotnotches in-Ithe feeder at the endiof each feeding movement ofthe feed slid in feeding directione it order hat eeding ns; 4fi- -may noJpe movedtsubstantialmfurtherziinfeedingad rection 75 than the positionthereof indicated in Figs. 6, 7

and 9 when the feeder 40 is removed from the guideway, the T-shapedmember 66 is provided with a lug 15 which depends from the end of saidmember that is secured to the feeding means. A stop block I is disposedbetween and secured to the adjacent ends of spaced plates 42 by a pinwhich is threaded at its ends and extends through suitable openings insaid ends of said plates and said stop block 15. Pin 15 is secured insaid plates and block by a plurality of nuts 15 respectively threaded onthe opposite ends of said pin 15.

The block 15 not only serves as a stop means adapted to be engaged bythe lug 15 to limit the movement of the feeding means in feedingdirection under the conditions stated in the foregoing but said block l5also serves as a spacing means for maintaining one end of each of saidplates 42 relatively properly spaced. However, under normal conditionsof use when a feeder is mounted in the guideway and is engaged by thefeeding means 46, there is a space between the adjacent faces of lug i5and stop block 75* when the feeding means reaches the limit of itsmovement in feeding direction.

A projection it extends longitudinally from the other end of feedingmeans 4t and is so constructed as to be adjustably secured to a threadedend of a coupling member 18 by means of a nut 19 threaded on said end ofthe coupling member. The other end of the coupling member 18 is securedto one end of a flexible cable 80. Cable 80 passes around a rotatablymounted pulley wheel 82 supported in the magazine by a suitable bracket84 which is mounted on a pair of the struts 34, the other end of thecable terminatin in a loop 86 depending below the lower portion of themagazine adjacent the right hand side of the feed box.

A bracket 83 is fixedly mounted on the magazine adjacent the right handside of the breech casing, said bracket having a depending portionterminating in a pair of spaced legs 89 which are respectively providedwith aligned apertures receiving a pivot pin 92. A bell crank 94 ispivotally mounted on pin 92 and one arm of the bell crank is providedwith a laterally projecting lug 9B a which is disposed in the loop 86 ofthe lower end of cable 86.

Secured to a portion of bracket 2!? which projects laterally outwardfrom the right hand side thereof is a cam member iiii provided with acam face [00 which extends upward and rearward from said portion ofbracket 26. Cam member 98 reciprocates in recoil and counter-recoildirection with the depending portion it of the barrel extension and theshape of the cam is such that, when moving in recoil direction, the camface" iiiil engages a laterally extending lug I62 provided on the outerend of the other arm of bell crank 95 from that which engages the cable80. In the course of the movement of cam member 98 from the positionshown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 3, the lower arm of bell crank 94is moved downward, as well as the depending lower end of the cable. Suchmovement of the bell crank and cable causes the feeding means 45 to bemoved in counter-feeding direction toward the right, as viewed in Fig.1, to energize or tension springs 72 which comprise power means for thebooster. It is to be understood that energizing the power meanscomprising the springs 12 means stretching the springsso as to placethem under greater tension than that possessed by them when rectionwhile the cable 80, bell crank 94 and cam" member 98 move said feedingmeans in counter feeding direction. Hence, said cable, bell crank,

and cam member may properly be considered part of the power means.

When the cable and bell crank 9 4 are being initially adjusted uponinstallation thereof the magazine and on the firearm respectively, theposition of the cam engaging lug 192 ,must be properly adjusted so thatit assumes its correct lowermost position, indicatedin Fig. 2, wherebythe cam member 98 will slidably engage said lug H32 to move the feedingmeans 46 the proper distance in counter-feeding direction. Locating thelug I02 in said proper position is accom-- plished by rotating nut 19 inthe proper direction to adjust the threaded end of the coupling member'58 longitudinally with respect to the projec-y tion 16 on the feedingmeans and thus move the end of the cable secured to the coupling memberthe correct amount either toward or from the feeding means 46. V

During the movement of the feeding means 46 in counter-feeding directionthe tooth 52 of the pawl 50 is slidably moved with respect to theportion of the feeder assembly disposed adjacent said feeding means,said tooth being thus moved from engagement with one feeding notch inthe feeder to the next succeeding feeding notch therein. As soon as thebarrel extension is moved by the recuperator mechanism in counter-recoildirection, the cam member 98 is also moved there with in counter-recoildirection so as to release the lug I82 on the bell crank and permit thespring device comprising spring E2 to move the feeding means 46, and thefeeder assembly engaged thereby through the medium of pawl 50 in feedingdirection which is toward the left as viewed in Fig. l.

Hence, the excess energy developed by the firearm during recoil movementis utilized advantageously to energize power means connected to feedingmeans in a booster mechanism in a magazine. While the barrel extensionand certain other parts of the firearm are moving in' counter-recoildirection to operate the conventional feed slide of the firearm, theenergy stored in springs 12 of the powermeans of the booster mechanismin the magazine is utilized to supplement the conventional feedingmechanism of the firearm. Thus, no undue burden is placed upon saidconventional feeding mechanism regardless of the fact that a magazine,or other suitable feeder assembly supporting and guiding means, maycontain a feeder assembly considerably longer than that which could benormally fed' properly by said conventional feeding mechanism cf thefirearm. V

The present power means comprising the plurality of springs 12 may bevaried as to the force produced by utilizing either one, two'or allthree of the springs provided for attach ment between the relativelymovable members comprising strut 34 and T-shaped member 66. Furtheradjustment of said force may also be obtained by using stronger orweaker springs. If a relatively short feeder is to be used, probably asingle spring 12 will be sufiicient to provide adequate force in thebooster mechanism and, accordingly, the middle spring is used singly,

the two outermost springs being disconnected anism is providedfozifaurposes of moving the 7"m T-shape'd -inemb'er 66a Said 'outenm'stnames!) and-pawl tooth: 52 from the position 'ings' mayilbeeithercompletelyremoved' from shown in- Fig's. 7 and-Sate the.inoperativeor nonmagaz'inebr th'ey"may simply depend io'c'isely feederengag'ing"positionthereof shown in Fig. from" the-strut 341* If somewhatgreater force is 9"aften as predetermined portion of the-feeder desiredthan that provided byori'espring in the assembly hasbee'n' movedi-in'feeding-direction Booster "mechanism, the 'middle spring is dis- =bythefeeding-means 46' and-paw150; i-L

donnected andthetwo'outerrnost springs are'uti- The counting and pawlretracting mechanism 1 dF-"StiITgreater' iforce is obtained whenallcomprises'a depending projection-l lU-carried =by three s prings'aieusedi 10 oneiside-imembei of the feeding "mean'sr46: *iA

Under s'ome conditions of use, it may be found pintle l lz'projectslaterally fromone' side of tlfat-itisidesirableto have the'feeding meanslfi -the"projection110 andipivotally'supports a roe in 'fedingdirec'tio'n niore quickly thanis tatable-memberi H4=-and'a"ratchet='iwheel. H6. rrnitted when using the typeoijcamshown inRotatable-fmember I I l-"Is preferably a circular s. 1 to 5':Accordingly?another-"embodiment 'di'se-ofapprecia'bhthicknessandisprovided with the inventidn contemplatest euse of scam mamlug?!fi iitending'iadially outwardbeydiid mber I M vi hiclfhasa cam faceI86eizt'f1dthe periphery of 'the-rotatabie member said smg W ward andrearward 's'ubstantial1y" i'n' the inrside elevation resenibling anangularly'sidd s'am manneras' cam facellwof cam-me ber'sa. too'thiRotatable memberi lfl4"i and'ratchet wheel new 61', the outer side ofham member 'l flfi 'is rme-arenuaqn-vmcmonm ngagementw'ith ach ed,adjacent the mwer end of cam jface other; so as to bemormallyimo'vablein unison, with an ai'cuate clearance slot oropeniri'g "by ineans of'accincav'spiingWasher l wwhich 56}; which is adapted to permit passage'oi lug also"" ounte'd on their intle ll2an'd held in n th e w r grin ofthe ten crank-after said resilient engagement against -ratohetWvheel mslidalo'ly" engaed th' cam "ijacellfifi jior hy athreadewnut l'lz'whichism'o'unt'ed-'o'n the e fQIfQ'B of the power means comprising 7 springTz'fivillquickly inove 11215102 on thd-loe'll 6i wsnapea: i A l clearance opening {08 before -"Ihe d ending leg of thepayvl 50 is provided4 hasstartedto'jmove' in counwith' a' :er'ally projecting cam:lzwwhimexction; n ence' the power nieansfof 'tnds' inthie directiori b:the rotatabl m'erhechjanismyqill beperinitted to start ber H4 and ispiovided" vvith 's eam faems g means'LQSfin'feeding-direcs'l idafblyngfageablejliki one side 'oflu'g H8 6f the q a, a the-same time that"'the otatabTe iheniBei-"IJM the pawl 50*tp t'he r If 1% m anqfthe'fireariiicorrinieniies inoperativepositionfthereofillustrateiifinil i 9 mqve thj f 'eederlih feedingdireiitionincident as tliefotatable inefiiiier indif -in e eckwise di- 0the nciVem'ent of the panel extension and rection-as viwed i'n Fig; 9."Figfaillustrat's the lcani' member fl fld inc'ounter-recoil direct-ion.1 in engaeine'fi with fia mfac'e l26 of (1am Movement of thelug'lllzthrougnthedearan'ce "githe paw150 to in erififi'ispossible whereover-travel bfthe g means 56 in counter-feeding direction Botatablemember H 4 and ratchet wheel IIG 2 videjd; IWh febythe pavvl iifl, whilemoving thus j'ompirise mechanism' *adapted to h' prodingdirecti'onjdoesnot 'engagefthe next "gressively inoved st' W1 e from oneposition, fen geableff e'eding notch 0f thefeeder until rated ifi 7; 0"andthr pb itiori-,=-=1ms- 1.62 has passed 'izlqi' ongh opening 108 "ofated 'ihFig. 8, whileflihe pawlfiflis l rogressively Oi ihfii feederasseinbly'irffeding' direction he guidevvaj 'inthemagaiinezBaidiotatahle Mummy since the conventiona'l feeding mechanism of firearm"is I well adapted "to properly ,ied" a eehahisin progress vely move'din clockwise asemlolir of certain lengths" in feeding "direction?-yieyvedfin' Fifg's. '7'through 9; 'by"en- "dir mom it has heenj'foundpreferable to have ag'enient 'of oneftootnbfthe ratchetwhel with itbooster inechanismof,the type described ir-hiend pea pawrjlzvvhi'c'hjis'supported from oye'oprate'to feed on'li; a' certainpdrtibnof ending mein er 43 of s'ide plates'flfl." PJvvle"'fe'e'der"as'sembly and then be disengaged lfi f is piovided witlfiapluralityof-ufps tanding th re om to permit'fthe gfonventionaljfeedingspacedears 12a isp'ectively'disposed adjacent infierafiarismiof f eedt'he remainder of" the; feeder fine-"or thedpnding hiernbers 43.'Earsfizsland y: l his'ff'is pa ticular y true in'the Ease "inembe'rs 4'3areiiransversely aperture' td receive t i=3 f ders of the typeillustrated inijliig. a bolt l29 which "s'euifes "saidfpavvl tosf said Aeendles's feeder assembly ofjthe 42." "i =1:- *1- 1. t: :1 i'

V v I I 'I'h right hand end of the lower side of each is beveledj'siightly iipward' and rearward i1 is 51 b ith avertieal pertureweg nigdisposedin each apeifltiire bi s the'righthaiid; end orpawl nvva 'dandthe left hand end"up 15f hand nd oi 'the" lower-"side:of each T l w rd y. th st TOileijfeedin of that" portion 'of said J6O p semb'ly' whichis last fe dfto thelfeed" e pq in rme rmm oqc i' i r ul f i q lith iwtrisi e .i t i l g Q the a v r l ed aifiitefd mm. v

I feeding means 65 reciprocates 1n direbtiii 'due twthermovement b'e'rs'e; one tooth ofethe .successive'teeth on the ratchet wheel.

engages the free end of fixed pawl I28 and, as the feeding means 456 ismoved slightly further in counter-feeding direction, said tooth is moved(i by said pawl to position B in Figs. '7 and 9, whereby the ratchetwheel H6 and rotatable member H4 are automatically advanced the distancebetween two adjacent teeth on the ratchet wheel.

Such advancement of the rotatable member H4 also advances the lug H8 anequal distance.

As one tooth moves from position A to position B,-.the next succeedingtooth will engage the upper surface of the left hand end of pawl I28 andmove it downward to the position there- Springs l29 permit such vancesthe feeder assembly a distance amounting to that between the centers oftwo adjacent cartridges in the feeder assembly. 'Upon the feeding meansreciprocating in counter-feeding direction, the ratchet wheel I I6advances the lug H8 on the rotatable member H4 a distance approximatelyamounting to the space between two Accordingly, it may be said that eachtooth on the ratchet wheel corresponds to a cartridge in the feederassembly as far as the relative advancement of the feeder assembly andlug H8 is concerned. Therefore, the feeding means 46 and pawl 50 willfunction to advance in the guideway of the magazine a number ofcartridges in the feeder assembly equal to the number of the teeth onthe ratchet wheel H6.

I After the ratchet wheel and lug H8 have been advanced from theposition shown in Fig. '7, the so-called starting position, to theposition shown in Fig. 8, the feeding means 46 may advance in feedingdirection to feed the feeder assembly one more time since, upon thefeeding means 46 moving in counter-feeding direction during the nextreciprocation, the tooth on the ratchet wheel engaged by the fixed pawlI28 during said reciprocation will serve to cam the pawl 51) to theinoperative position thereof illustrated in Fig. 9. Thereafter, thefeeder assembly will not be advanced by the feeding means and pawl 56notwithstanding the fact that said feeding means will be continuouslyreciprocated by the power means of the booster mechanism.

In order that pawl 50 may be retained in in- 12 Only when the pawl 56 ismoved by lug H8 to the position shown in Fig. 9 does the upper end ofthe latch I36 engage beneath the locking detent I34 on the cam tomaintain thepawl in inoperative position. r

'After a feeder has been exhausted of all cartridges and the magazine orother cartride containing and guiding means is reloaded, the boostermechanism is reset in operative position by manually rotating theratchet wheel H6 and rotatable member I H until they occupy the positionshown in Fig. 7 or any other position which will permit feeding of therequired number of cartridges prior to retraction of pawl 55. The pawl56 is then released from its latched position shown in Fig. 9 bymanually engaging the lower portion 536 of the latch i361 and moving ittoward the ratchet wheel HS until .the locking detent I3 on the pawl isclear of the upper end of latch its. Following this, spring 58 willautomatically move the pawl to the position shown in Fig. 7.

The tooth 52 of pawl may not move substantially above the positionthereof illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 inasmuch as the outer end of camI24 normally rides on the cylindrical outer surface of rotatable memberI M as is clearly evident from Fig. '7; r a

Should it be desired to change the feeding capacity of the boostermechanism described above so that the booster mechanism will feedelarger or smaller portion of a feeder assembly containing a greater orlessernumber of cartridges than the feeder assembly illustrated in Fig;1, for example, said change may be effected by replacing the presentratceht wheel H6 with another one having sumcient teeth to correspond tothe number of rounds-which it is desired to have boosted or fed by thebooster mechanism, Preferably, the ratchet wheel should be of the samediameter as the present one so as to be readily interchangeabletherewith.

In substituting another ratchet wheel having a different number of teethfrom the present one, since the length of the reciprocative path of thefeeding means 56 will preferably remain the same, the end of the pawllZS which engages the ratchet I wheel should preferably be varied eithertoward or away from the ratchet wheel, depending on whether thesubstituted ratchet wheel has' a greater or fewer number of teeth thanthe presently used one, to compensate forthe change in operativeposition, latch mechanism is provided to automatically engage saidpawlupon the camming of the pawl to its inoperative position illustrated inFig. 9. Said latch mechanism comprises a latch member 66 pivotallymounted intermediately of its ends on a pintle. I32 carried by thefeeding means 46. Theupper end. of the latch 136 is engageable with alocking detent 134' space between said teeth.

' Such change of said end of the pawl !28 may be effected by providingadjustment means, not shown, to vary the longitudinal position thereofwith respect to members 43 on spaced plates ,42. which support the fixedpawl. Rather than vary the position of the fixed pawl l2 8 With respectto spaced plates 42 under the circumstances described above however, itis deemed preferable to supply one or more sets of substitute parts,said sets each comprising a ratchet wheel and a fixed pawl properlycooperable therewith whereby said substitute parts may replace theratchet wheel andpawl presently mounted in the booster mechanism when itis desired to change the feeding capacity of said booster mechanism.

Should it be further desired'to so increase the capacity of the boostermechanism beyond that which can be obtained by using a ratchet wheel ofthe same diameter as the presently shown one,

V a ratchet wheel and rotatable member of larger diameter may be usedbut, in this event, a different feeding means having a longer projectionH 0 n S t wfieee sei: 'ing; means could; be readily 'efiecteclhoweizei'i lill o ftilegoingn descriptions o th'e. intention, terms usedta descrilee position or diret; 914 as; upward; rearward, downward, lefthang side, right hand side, front, rear, and thelilge, arerto-Ice-considered when themagazine. anal fire.- ami are disposed in the.normal; position, thereoi which is the position of. the firearm ammagazine shownfrom; therearend in Eigl of-the, present Qrawings whensaid figure is vieweot While hold;- ingthe sheet containing the same in,siihsta-n: tiallyv vertical position with the longitudinal axis thereqjdisposed horizontally. Said descriptive are to be oonsiderecl'in thesame. relative "sense regardless 'of the position in which the magazineand firearm maybe ultimately disposed. in 7 "ii Wh'l e the invention hasbeen illustrated and -'describecl in its preferredembodiment and hasincluded certain details, should.- he understood "that the invention isnot to be limited tovthe greoise details herein illustrated anddescribed since the same may be. carried.- out in other Ways, 'ijallingWithin the scope oi the invention "as el im What we claim is z 1. Inanautomatic firearm having a feed channel and feed mechanism operableautomatically to move a feeder assembly therethrrough, and'a aQguicleway communicating with the feed and adapted to support and guide"a or assembly in its movement therein,"' the 1 on ofa booster mechanismcomprising is? the and e eti i el erab t engage eii ect the novement'ofthe feeder assembly w Y W V 'nel'poixier means "for actuatiiigthe ,fe in it ee and at independently off the len ths? th n structed (1arranged to rienderth fedi ig means inefie c tiye after the feederassembly'has been mgyed by the ie e c'ling means a predetermined extent.V

2. In an automatic firearm haying a feed channel and feed mechanismoperable automatically to move a feeder assembly 'therethrough, and amagazine mounted on the firearm and provided i h a sir-leeway WJ P thefeed channel and adapted to support and guide a geede r assembly in itsn oy e ment there the motivatio of a Master msshee seme 'is tg edingmeans additional to the feed c lfian sm I. the fi arm and operableriodically .efiect the moyegn operations. no bination accordingtoclaimg, W thefi'iae ding mean s cgmgrfes a spri e slsed W and th'ecounting mec anism comp a Q ratchet,operated cam for s ting the nasal aninoperative position.

4. In an automatic firearm having a feed channel and feed mechanismoperable automatias embly ther'ethrough,

i I n he fire and n y (communicating with h A .y. ort and l iil cce e3F?3P1Y}} i m m 9? th h recombinat on p a t 1 anism Wherecomprisingreciprocable feeding meantimtional to the feed mechanism of the fireagaaine mounted on the firearm and'proivided:

ig nieans a'dgiitional to the'i'ee'd mechanism "feeder assembly and cone a n th ss i si tita mb t m an toneimc ed we "m pro re si el n o e-foeo i s n the feeding means and upon fg hinged a M I scammed; at-s i toeac reason o aw item e a men t t th der. assim- 1. an a oma ic fi earm vn a iced enamel nd feesi me h nism op rable autom icato mo e a etltthrou am o ine. m u a nd p ov ded ith a q ivew m w t e te d, th s Ja ad; o and ide L teal zs mji l r & her in the. Qm i ei-m o a eq i mam omisin te inmte le e d fi ee ldi dnal t he eed m elia sm o th fire in, apawl carried thereby and 'aglanted en go a d m re the Role: at anlteqipfqciit o o he eed ng me ns atin re pons t the ec rq t on. o hei'es ie me n a be n mgyfifl e ni sisrmiesd ex t o efie e retrast oo 9 thep w om its en a em nt w th the ees r es en iei means r hol n th aw n itre. recta 122??- tion.

6 i e m nat on accor ing t la m a in he pawl re r t n meansmm riss.rvtsbe operated earn, the ratchet being actuated the narr w n mo emen9;" iliep ss lins to m re t 9am nto posit on to ef e t the rei 't iifilQ the ne line b a combin t on a or in to s m a the t a in mea ompr se arat he n. s a tuat d b th repi ro atfme n r m n of the eedin m ns t m veh p in position t one t e r actio o th aw h eb and be n .cp .te and aranged to be init al s t n h .des re ion t count fi a exeelet rmine n mbr o t i, o q ati s o the e n m an be ore the new re hes it salt et a t mon 8.111 a au t c fire rm hav n a ice ann l mechan sm autom c operable:to feed a feeder assembly through the channel, a memb nt rmit nt moable n re o "an c unte s-reco dir tio s a he fir arm flin t ns a am peried by {Said ste rable member n fo me with a am ace x ndin a Ja an e tthe path moveme o sa d .camen term n in a one end i a openin ext n instran v rsely to said C face en ine .m s

izio imounted o said firear and ro ide .wi a uidew y communicating wi si t ed pha .Ilel and vshaped to st port ,andisui e a fe er a Isembly formovement sa olm e inea h 'bination of a booster mechanism comp; V,ieeding' .meanis additiona to t e Ilia me han Zof the firearmandpositioned andiormed toeneaee and mov a d eede assembly i eedindirection in .said euideway timed r lation 300 the operation ofisaidfirearm .feed zms fih i i Power means icompfisingfla gspringdeviceicgntnected ,ito .s'aid .feeding Jneans 1110 more the ,samein-feeding rdirectio'iifia bellcrank levclxpiv otedjflto a fliedporti-on" of'ctheifirearm, means interconiiiecting'said fspring devicewith one )arnii of said lever, and .a projecting .lug ionithe other armof 'the levr engaging rthe said .camiMPQIl .ieaQhsi c- 75 cessivemovement thereof in recoil direction so 15 as to rock the lever andthereby energize said spring device until the cam has been moved to aposition where the opening therein permits the passage of the lugtherethrough to release the lever from the influence of the cam, wherebythe spring device is free to relax and effect the movement of thefeeding means. I

9. A cartridge feeding device for use with an automatic firearm having atransverse feed channel for receiving a cartridge feeder assembly, thesaid cartridge feeding device comprising in combination, a poweractuated repetitively operable feeding means engageable with the feederassembly to move the said feeder assembly intermittently into thefirearm feed channel, and mechanism acting independently of the lengthof "the feeder assembly and constructed and arranged to automaticallyrender the feeding means inoperative after the feeder assembly has beenmoved by the feeding means toa predetermined extent.

10. A cartridge feeding device for use with an automatic firearm havinga transverse feed channel for receiving a cartridge feeder assembly, thesaid cartridge feeding device comprising in combination, a poweractuated repetitively operable feeding means engageable with a portionof the feeder assembly to move the said feeder assembly intermittentlyinto the firearm feed channel, and counting mechanism includ-' ing meansconstructed and arranged to automaticall render the feeding meansinoperative after a predetermined number of feeding operations.

11. The combination of an automatic firearm provided with a transversefeed channel and with feed mechanism immediately adjacent the feedchannel for engaging a cartridge feeder assembly to move itintermittently through the channel during the functioning of thefirearm, a maga-- zine including a guideway for engaging and guiding afeeder assembly which guideway has an end portion positioned adjacentthe firearm feed channel so as to guide the feeder assembly to the saidfeed channel, a booster mechanism positioned adjacent the magazineguideway and including feeding means additional to the firearm feedmechanism and engageable with the feeder assembly to assist the firearmfeed mechanism in moving the feeder assembly along the guideway towardand through the firearm feed channel, means for repetitively operatingthe said booster mechanism, and means acting independently of the lengthof the feeder assembly and constructed and arranged to operate when thefeeder assembly has been moved to a predetermined extent toautomatically render the feeding means of the booster mechanismineffective and to thereby cause continued movement of the feederassembly to be thereafter-ef fected solely by the feed mechanism of thefire- 12. The combination of an automatic firearm provided with atransverse feed channel and with feed mechanism immediately adjacent thefeed channel for engaging a cartridge feeder assembly to move itintermittently through the channel during the functioning of thefirearm, a magazine including a guideway for engaging and guiding afeeder assembly which guideway has an end portion positioned adjacentthe firearm feed channel so as to guide the feeder assembly to the saidfeed channel, a booster mechanism positioned adjacent the magazineguideway and including feeding means additional to the firearm feedmechanism and engageable with the feeder assembly to assist the'firearmfeed mechanism in moving the feeder assembly along the guideway towardand through the firearm feed channel, means for repetitively operatingthe said booster mechanism, and counting mechaism including means toautomatically render the feeding means of the booster mechanismineffecfeed mechanism immediately adjacent the feed 7 channel forengaging a cartridge feeder assembly to move it intermittently throughthe channel during the functioning of the. firearm, -a magazineincluding a guideway for engaging and guiding a feeder assembly whichguideway has-an end portion positioned adjacent the firearm feed channelso as to guide the feeder assembly to the said feed channel, a boostermechanism positioned adjacent the magazine guideway and in' cluding areciprocable spring-pressed pawl engageable during each advancing strokewith the feeder assembly to assist the firearm feeding mechanism inmoving the feeder assembly along the guideway toward and through thefirearm feed channel, means for reciprocating the pawl, and a ratchetoperated cam mechanism constructed to be set to count offa predeterminednumber of feeding strokes in response to the reciprocations of said pawland serving upon the counting of the final stroke of said predeterminednumber of strokes to operate the cam to shift the pawl to a position outof engagement with the feeder assembly to permit continued movement ofthe latter to be effected thereafter solely by said feeding means.

GEORGE WEBB. WILLIAM L. SWARTZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 642,018 Ternstrom Jan. 23,19001,290,852 Sturgeon Jan. 7, 1919 1,399,440 Payne Dec. 6, 1921 1,451,339Kottas Apr. 10, 1923 1,525,065 Browning Feb. 3, 1925 1,692,277 PfeiiferNov. 20, 1928 1,903,288 Dabrasky et a1 Apr. 4, 1933 2,027,893 WilliamsJan. 14," 1936 2,047,596 Romberg July 14,1936 2,303,479 Lesnick Dec.1,,"19 42 2,366,395 Hall Jan. 2, 1945 2,377,828 Trotter et a1 June 5,1945 2,388,670 Bixby Nov. 13, 1945 2,415,413 Burgess Feb. 11, "1947FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 2,332 Great Britain of 19.14 306,440Great Britain May 21'? 1929 355,767 Great Britain Feb. 21, 1930 449,943Great Britain' July 7,1936 349,820 Italy June 23, 1937 834,485

France Aug. 22, 1938

